


Taking Care of Adora

by TechnoSkittles



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Canon Lesbian Relationship, F/F, Implied Sexual Content, Self Care, aka just stuff that my friends/bf have to do to remind me to take care of myself, alt title is actual a quote my roommate screams at me when I forget to eat, basically just two idiots and a lesbian trying to take care of their dumb lesbian friend, post s5 fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-25
Updated: 2020-05-25
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:34:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,729
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24370645
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TechnoSkittles/pseuds/TechnoSkittles
Summary: Alternative title; "consider this....eat some GODDAMN FOOD!!!"And for what must be the hundredth time (but possibly won't be the last) Catra wonders how the Horde was losing to a Rebellion headed by three idiots: one of them being her current girlfriend who forgets to adhere to her basic everyday needs and the other two bumbling morons who don't know how to remind her.
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra)
Comments: 57
Kudos: 1034





	Taking Care of Adora

It's happening again.

Things were all right for a little while. With the defeat of Horde Prime and restoration of all magic to Etheria, all that permeated the air and burned in the blood of the planet's inhabitants was euphoria and relief. Slipshod celebrations were held nightly and would last until daybreak - jovial music accompanied quick footwork as everyone danced carefree, laughing and drinking and reveling in camaraderie in the wake of a newfound peace. With the war that spanned decades coming to such an abrupt end, work was the furthest thing from everyone's minds as they dedicated their freedom and victory to the girl who made it all possible.

At the center of every party, the star of every celebration, Adora was the most carefree of all. It was a welcome sight to behold, if somewhat foreign, to see her attitude shift so abruptly from just hours, days before when it had been so uptight. But it was well-deserved, for all the heart and effort she put forth into saving them all, and no one made a comment about it.

Nor did they make a comment about the girl glued to her side, hands never straying far, fangs glinting in a smile that never waned, even when they shared many a kiss in the flickering light of a bonfire. Another new development that was a brief shock but not an actual surprise that no one dared mention.

Of course, for all the joy that inflated their hearts, ending a war was more than just drunken nights of ale and fun, and in a week's time, the work had begun. There was plenty to spare - taking back kingdoms and villages, rebuilding what had been destroyed, and navigating the wilderness that raw magic brung. New alliances had to be made, agreements drafted, and then there was also the fact that Adora proposed a mission to share Etheria's wealth of magic with the rest of the universe, which would extend their political relations beyond the atmosphere deep into space.

Everyone is expected to pull their weight.

But that isn't the issue.

No, the issue lay in that _certain_ people are pulling _too much_ weight.

It shouldn't be as surprising, that Adora is the one to throw herself into these new tasks more fervently than everyone else. You can take the girl out of the Horde, take her out of a war, but that stuff never truly leaves as it should. She's still She-Ra and her heart still oozes gold, so it's natural that she wants to dedicate every waking moment in aiding the efforts to rebuild and reinvent Etheria under the new circumstances.

It's understandable to a point. But Glimmer has noticed that old habits are creeping back in, ones she hoped would have vanished with the blanket of peace that wraps around them. In retrospect, she should have known better. It doesn't stop her from worrying though. Or telling Bow about said worries.

"It's like anything's barely changed," she remembers ranting one day. "She's still pushing herself too hard without any regards to her own well-being. She's still-"

"The same old Adora?" Bow finishes for her.

Admittedly, there's something to admire about Adora's tenacity. Her overwhelming desire to help anyone who needs it, to lead the forefront of any movement she joins and pave a way through uncertainty with a slice of her sword. It's a natural gift, Glimmer thinks, to be so strong-willed.

At least, that's what she had thought, until a conversation with Catra enlightened her to the other, less desirable possibilities.

"She's always been like this," she'd commented flippantly. They'd been taking a short break from their plans of relocating locals misplaced by the war, devising ramshack shelters to house them until their homes were repaired and rebuilt. Her fingers walked along the map in a disinterested fashion, claws nicking the paper with dents, but a frown weighed on her lips that called attention to the faraway look in her eyes. "Shadow Weaver wanted her to be perfect. Better than perfect. It's been like that all our lives."

Glimmer remembers the gnawing guilt that burned like acid in her stomach, rising like bile as she recalled the rejected sorceress' time in Bright Moon. Of Glimmer's blind trust in her, her disregard for Adora's discomfort, and shivered.

Catra had dropped her palm to the map and rolled her neck, next words a low mumble. "I don't think that ever really leaves a person."

And before Glimmer could pry, Catra returned to the tent, fingers tapping on a set of coordinates and resumed their planning. But she noticed that the worried furrow in her brow remained carved in her features, and they had decided to end their planning early.

With this new knowledge, a brand new light illuminated each of Adora's behaviors - both past and present. During the war, she'd always been high-strung, worrying over every minor detail, consumed by the feeling of never doing enough. But war did that to people. It pushed them to the brink of their limits, grinded down on their nerves until they were a shivering and twitching mess of a person. They all experienced it to a point. Glimmer is no stranger to the stresses of war or leadership, knowing that being in that position can heighten the effects to an unbearable degree.

When Adora skipped on meals, they never questioned it. They'd been too busy.

When she went days without sleep, they kept their lips pressed. They'd been too tired.

When she was too anxious to sit still or unwind, they brushed it off. They'd been too distracted.

Now, with everyone mostly having settled down, it's easier to notice the behaviors rising up again. They're still busy, still preoccupied with returning back to some semblance of normal, but without the threat of destruction hovering over their heads, the way that Adora fails to take care of herself regularly is glaringly bright.

There are times where Glimmer notices her absence during mealtimes. Though the times she is there she eats with gusto, she still knows it's _unhealthy_.

She sleeps, but she wakes before everyone else, or turns in after they've all long been tucked into bed. The evidence is crystal clear by way of the dark circles under her eyes, so dark and large it looks borderline painful.

And she hadn't even seen Adora take time for herself since the last celebration.

It's not that they don't try to get her to look out for herself. They always reprimand her behaviors when they notice them rearing their head, encouraging her to take breaks for food or rest, but Adora - with her infuriating soft smile and kind eyes - promises that she's doing fine and that she'll take care of it once she's finished with her work. But as more and more work piles on over the days, Glimmer begins to worry that one day she'll find her collapsed in the middle of a hallway from exhaustion or food deprivation.

Unfortunately, she realizes that day might come sooner rather than later when she runs into Bow one afternoon exiting the war room with his signature Worried Look™ contorting his face. As soon as they lock eyes with each other, Glimmer already knows what put it there.

"Again?" she asks in heated exasperation.

"She's been in there for hours," he clarifies, wringing his hands together and looking at the door. His voice is hushed. "I thought she was leaving for lunch when I left earlier but I just checked back in and she hasn't even moved! When I asked her she just told me she'd eat something as soon as she finishes going through the supply requests from the villages on the eastern coast." He clenches his teeth and hisses, "But she said the same thing two hours ago when she was reading through the damage reports from Colonia!"

Glimmer growls and clenches her fists at her sides before turning to level narrowed eyes at the door. "That does it! She can't just keep doing this to herself! She's going to pass out or starve herself to death at this rate!" She shoulders past Bow. " _Someone_ has to knock some sense into her before this gets out of hand."

"Knock sense into who?"

Both parties jump in surprise (with Bow muffling his squeak with his hand) and swivel around to face the new voice. Standing across from them is Catra, split eyes looking between the two of them with a bored curiosity.

"Well, Adora hasn't really-"

"Your _girlfriend_ ," Glimmer cuts him off, taking a second to notice the way that Catra's tail swishes behind her at the term of endearment being thrown at her, "is killing herself over work and apparently not feeding herself!"

Catra heaves a sigh through her nose, glancing towards the door before turning back to them with a roll of her eyes. "Yeah. Sounds like her." Then she arches an eyebrow at Glimmer, an upturned smirk playing on her lips that, for some reason, kind of makes her want to strange the girl. Blame it on past feuds or lingering resentment or something else to that extent. "Let me guess: you were going to barge in there and yell at her only to get ignored?"

"Well at least _I'm_ concerned about her!" Glimmer hisses, still careful not to raise her voice too loud and risk being overheard by the subject of their conversation in the next room. She moves away from the door to stand before Catra, an easy outlet for all her aggravation. "What have _you_ been doing all this time? Do you even care?"

A dark shadow falls over Catra's eyes and the tension between the two of them sparks, crackling like lightning. In the background is the faint sound of Bow's whine of exasperated worry, but they both ignore it in favor of glaring each other down. Catra has the upper hand for being taller, but Glimmer knows that if it _really_ comes down to trading blows, she could hold her own.

"How about you don't tell me how to handle my" ー She hesitates, teeth pulling on her lip ー "on how to handle Adora, okay? I've known her since we were kids, longer than _either_ of you. If there's _anyone_ in this stupid, pastel castle that knows how to handle her, it's _me_."

"Then _do_ something!" Glimmer whisper-shouts. "If you know so much about her, then get in there and make her eat!"

At this, Catra rolls her eyes and scoffs. Her arms cross as her tail whips back and forth behind her and that smirk returns. Her nose upturned, she looks down at Glimmer like a naїve little kid, which makes her grind her teeth in annoyance. "'Make her eat'? No wonder you guys suck at this. If it was that simple we wouldn't be standing here, would we?"

Before Glimmer can bite out a scathing remark, Bow finally enters with a placating hand on her shoulder. It works. A little.

"Well, what do you suggest then? We can't just let her keep going as she is."

"Adora is thick-skulled," Catra explains. "When she's got her mind set on something, she becomes obsessed with it. Everything else comes second, including her own needs. But," she raises a single clawed finger with a smug grin, "there's a trick to still getting her to take care of herself even when she's preoccupied like this. And as long as you princesses haven't screwed her up too much, it should still work."

Still bitter but undoubtedly curious, Glimmer finally relaxes her shoulders. "So? What's the trick?"

Catra shakes her head, smug grin growing wider. "You let me handle that. For now, how about you watch a pro demonstrate?" Ignoring the way that Glimmer's lip twitches into an almost sneer, she looks up to Bow. "I need you two to go in there and make sure she stays in there until I get back, okay?"

"I highly doubt she'll be leaving anytime soon. She's buried in paperwork."

"Just _watch her_. Do whatever you have to. I won't be long." And before either of them can argue any further, she's turned around and walking away, tail swinging behind her in an almost know-it-all fashion.

Glimmer huffs as they watch her go, crossing her arms. "Having saved the universe or not, she still manages to get on my nerves."

Regardless, they both follow Catra's instructions to watch over Adora while she's off doing...whatever. When they enter the war room, Adora is at the table, surrounded by piles of papers stacked well above her head. She doesn't even glance up when they enter. When they do finally manage to grab her attention, it's brief and distracted, her eyes barely lifting off the document in front of her as she greets them.

Suffice to say, keeping her in one place isn't that hard of a task.

For the most part, her and Bow sit there quietly and watch her, exchanging occasional worried glances at her somewhat disheveled state - the way that her ponytail rests loose on her head, the sunken welts underneath her eyes, the crumpled collar of her jacket. Glimmer has half the mind to say something, _anything_ , but as if somehow sensing her intentions, Bow shakes his head, discouraging her each time.

So they sit.

And they wait.

Eventually, the door opens again and in comes Catra, balancing a plate stacked high with food. Cut sandwiches, fruit, cubes of cheese and slabs of meat, even a few pastries haphazardly thrown about. She's munching on a grape as she walks in, smirking in Glimmer and Bow's direction with raised brows, tail swishing by her shoulder, as if to say " _Watch and learn, novices"_.

Bow, of course, greets her warmly, as if they hadn't just seen each other minutes before. "Catra! Hey!"

Adora perks up at the mention of her girlfriend's name, but just barely. She raises her head just long enough to catch Catra's eye and smiles then ducks her head back down.

Catra walks over to the seat next to Adora, plucking another grape off the plate and popping it into her mouth. "Hey, Sparkles. Is it cool to eat in here?"

Glimmer gives a pointed look towards Adora who, of course, isn't paying any attention whatsoever. "Yeah. Just don't make a mess or anything."

"Sweet!" And then Catra plops down into the chair, sitting sideways so that her feet drape over one arm and her back is against the other. The plate rests tentatively in her lap as she picks up another grape, tossing it up and catching it in her mouth effortlessly. She continues munching quietly at choice pieces on the plate, which only serves to confuse both Glimmer and Bow who share a look.

Wasn't this about getting _Adora_ to eat?

Bow shrugs as if to say " _Let's just wait and see_."

Eventually, after slowly chewing on two more grapes, Catra straightens up and leans into Adora's space, setting the plate on the table as she nibbles on a slice of turkey. "Whatcha got there?" she asks, chin hooked on Adora's shoulder.

Blinking, Adora gives her a sideways glance, flushing slightly at their closeness, before clearing her throat and shifting to give Catra a clearer view. "Supply requests from Rosewood. Basic essentials and all that - construction materials and equipment to rebuild their farms and the few shops they have, crops to make up for what they lost to the invasion, food rations to help them get by until the new harvest season. That sort of thing." She holds the paper up and pulls out another from underneath. "Of course, Bright Moon doesn't have everything they need or enough to hand out to them as well as everyone else who needs some of the same stuff, so we have to figure out where the other villages and kingdoms can pitch in and how to fairly distribute everything to everyone who needs the aid. So where some kingdoms are lacking or unable to provide, we'll be sending out notice to other kingdoms to see what we can afford to hand out and how much to give based on what the needs of other villages are."

She places those two papers to the side, still in view, and picks up another paper. "Though we also have to keep in mind on what our priorities are in terms of population and contribution each village can provide in turn in the coming months." She taps the paper with her finger. "Rosewood is one of the smaller populated communities, but they're also our main food distributor and if we supply extra aid to them, it'll help increase our resources for everyone else in a few months' time. Though we still have to be careful not to favor them too much, lest we risk upsetting any other villages who think they're receiving special treatment." She pops a cheese cube into her mouth, which Glimmer hadn't even noticed she'd grabbed from the plate resting by her.

"So right now it's a struggle about balancing our priorities," she swipes another cheese cube, shoving that into her mouth and chewing thoughtfully as she looks over the paper with a crease in her brow, "but also trying our best to treat all the villages and kingdoms fairly to minimize any chance of unrest among the people." She sighs, hand sliding back to the plate, grabbing one of the sandwich cuts and taking a bite out of it, looking up to Catra. "While also trying to keep in mind just how many resources the larger kingdoms have and can afford to supply. It's…"

"A lot?" Catra offers, subtly shoving the plate closer to Adora. Finishing her sandwich, Adora nods and grabs one of the pastries. She lays down the paper and props her elbow on the table, resting her head in her hand as she takes a bite, chewing on it slowly as her eyes drag down the paper.

"Basically, yeah."

With Adora's attention focused on the documentation before her again, Catra turns her gaze to both Glimmer and Bow and sticks out her tongue.

Glimmer, in turn, stares at her in something akin to awe. During that whole exchange, not once did Catra actively offer her food or suggest she eat anything off the plate. Adora did that of her own accord, so wrapped up in her dilemma that she probably hadn't even noticed what she was doing.

When she spares a glance over to Bow, she catches him already looking at her, the same level of reverence splayed on his face. Silently, they both agree:

It was an impressive tactic.

"Well," Catra's voice cuts into their telepathic conversation. "I'm sure you'll figure it out. You're smart like that." She places a gentle kiss to Adora's temple, the gesture turning Adora's cheeks pink. Then she straightens up.

"Oh! Almost forgot that Entrapta wanted to talk to me about something." She shoves the plate the rest of the way until it's practically on top of the paperwork spread out on the table. "Here, you can finish this. I'm not that hungry anymore."

Adora looks down at the plate, almost as if noticing it for the first time even though she'd been picking food off of it for the past couple of minutes. "Oh, uh, thanks." She plucks a grape before plopping it into her mouth, only to nearly choke on it when Catra sidles into her space, knee between her thighs and resting on the chair. Her arms drape over Adora's shoulders, face intimately close, as she lowers her voice.

"Maybe once I'm done you could take a break from all this? I have something to show you," she says, a suggestive lilt at the end of her sentence which has Adora turning a bright red.

"Uh...um, yeah. When...when do you think you'll be done?" Adora stammers out with her back pressed against the chair.

"Well," Catra reaches back to play with Adora's ponytail, "you know how Entrapta likes to ramble. But I'm sure I can manage to cut it down to ten….fifteen minutes?"

"Sounds-" Adora swallows and exhales. "Sounds good."

The marble of the floor is cool and hard against Glimmer's jaw as it drops to the floor - both at the blatant affectionate display between them but also because she _knows_ what Catra's doing. She's doubly impressed, if a little uncomfortable, that not only did Catra manage to get Adora to eat, but now convincing her to take a break? At a set time and not just "when I finish with this"?

It's unreal.

No _wonder_ she laughed at their attempts. She has a natural, almost _suave_ way of getting around Adora's innate need to be useful and helpful to tear down those blockades and pull her out of it.

As much as Glimmer hates to admit it, Catra was right - she _knows_ Adora. Pretty well, too, if this display is anything to show for it. If the whole point wasn't to get Adora to slow down, she might be a little more annoyed by Catra's zeal in overselling the whole thing and blatantly showing off to make them look like utter fools.

"Great," Catra says with a chaste peck to Adora's lips. "See you in a bit, then?" Her tail brushes the underside of Adora's chin and now Glimmer's convinced that she's overdoing it on _purpose_.

But it works. "Yeah. Yeah, you will."

Then Catra pulls away and saunters behind Adora's chair, throwing a triumphant smirk their way and two fingers, mouthing a silent but self-congratulatory "Two for Catra". She saunters out of the room, hips swaying and tail swinging in time as though she knows (and she probably does) that Adora's watching her leave in a blushing daze.

It isn't until Catra has disappeared from the room and the door has shut behind her that Adora turns back, eyes wide and cheeks dark when she seemingly remembers that they're still there.

"H-hey guys."

* * *

The next day, Glimmer is still talking about the previous day's events with Bow.

Both of them are still in a state of suspended disbelief that the problem they'd been agonizing over since the war's end - no, _before_ that even - was solved in what seemed a matter of minutes.

"I've gotta hand it to her," Bow says, polishing one of his arrows. "What she did yesterday? Was _actually_ kind of genius."

Glimmer hums in agreement, though she'd never say those exact words out loud herself. "Who would've thought that the best way to get Adora to eat was just to distract her by getting her to ramble like that?" She pushes around her breakfast on her plate with a fork, head propped up on her fist as she watches Bow work. "Honestly, that sounds a little more like a trick that works on Entrapta."

Bow tilts his head in thought. "Well, Catra seems to know a great deal about handling her too. Maybe this is why?"

It's a strong possibility. She snickers and scoops up some eggs onto her fork, pointing it at Bow. "I highly doubt she convinces Entrapta to take breaks like _that_ though," she says, eyebrows pointedly raising and falling to reference Catra's... _audacious_ behavior that preceded her departure.

Bow chuckles weakly, tucking his chin to his chest as he scrubs a bit more intently at one of the arrows. "Yeah, well," he clears his throat, "that seemed to work well enough, too. Adora left as soon as she finished the rest of her plate."

"I don't even think she took another look at any of those papers," Glimmer adds. Neither of them mention the reason that Adora seemed so eager to leave. Neither of them really want to think about it. "But the most important thing is that Catra's tactics worked." She shovels her eggs into her mouth, barely chewing through them before tacking on, "Which means that it _can_ be done."

Bow rubs the back of his neck and replaces the arrow into his quiver, moving on to the next one. "Yeah, well...maybe we can leave all future instances up to her? I don't know how well either of us could try to pull something like that off. Or if we even should."

Glimmer frowns and drops her fork to her plate. "Well, maybe not the...second part, sure. But we can definitely get her to eat if we notice she hasn't been. That part seemed…" Safe. Tame. _Innocent_. "Doable enough."

Before Bow can say anything, the dining room doors open and none other than Catra, the prodigy herself, walks in. She greets them with a wide-fanged grin, wearing a simple pair of leggings and one of Adora's shirts that she ripped up and stole for herself. She leans over to the middle of the table and snags an apple from the fruit basket perched there, munching on it loudly as she leans forward to rest her elbows on the table.

"Make that _three_ for Catra," she states.

"Three?" Bow questions and him and Glimmer share a quick look before returning their attention to Catra. "What else did you do?"

"I got Adora to eat," she ticks off one finger, "take a break," another finger, "and then got her to sleep." A third finger. "Consider Adora taken care of." She takes another bite of her apple before smiling, like some joke was said that she couldn't help but find funny. "Well taken care of."

"That's a relief," Glimmer smiles, deciding to ignore the way that Catra's smirking at them. "Maybe you're good for something after all, Horde Scum," she says, keeping her tone light and airy to assure Catra that she's only teasing.

Catra brushes her off easily, her eyes bright and glowing in a way that shouldn't be normal for such an early morning. "In fact, she's still sleeping. Good and sound."

Bow raises his brows incredulously. "How'd you manage that? Adora's always up before we are." He slides the arrow he's working on away and starts on another one. "Though that does explain why we haven't seen her this morning yet."

Catra hums and takes another bite of her apple, wiping away the excess juice that drips down her chin with her pinky finger. "Well, the key to getting Adora to sleep is to exhaust her. Back in the Horde, the best way to do that was sparring together or playing games through the halls." Mischief glints in her eyes and Glimmer narrows her eyes, knowing that's _never_ a good sign. "But, as it turns out, this girlfriend gig has a few extra perks."

Her and Bow sit there silently, both wise enough to not ask for further clarification.

"So," Catra takes one last bite of her apple before tossing it at Bow who has to drop his arrow to catch it (though he narrowly misses), "consider her... _thoroughly_ exhausted." She licks her lips to catch the remnants of the apple juice, eyes crinkling in devious thoughts and malicious joy in seeing the two of them squirm. "Depending on how soon she wakes up, I might even try and exhaust her a little more." She shrugs and straightens up with a wink. "Ya know. Let her catch up on all that lost sleep from the past few days."

Next to her, Glimmer notices Bow paling as he sets down the eaten apple and wipes his hands on his pants, deliberately avoiding any and all eye contact with Catra. On her end...well, it's pretty much the same.

Catra, of course, thinks their reactions are hilarious. "No more need to worry, you two." She begins to make her exit but pauses at the door, sending them one last wink for flair.

"She's in good hands."

And then she's gone.

An awkward, deafening silence plagues the dining room as the two of them digest that interaction. Both of them struggle to not let their thoughts stray too far into the heavy implications that Catra laid out before them, knowing that that information is too intimate, too _personal_ to give reasonable consideration.

Glimmer decides to break the tension with a clearing of her throat. "Well...at least she's eating now."

Bow chokes on air next to her and after a second of genuine confusion, Glimmer reddens at her choice in words.

"Bow! You know what I mean!"

**Author's Note:**

> Gosh it's a great thing Catra came along and switched sides. Otherwise these three idiots would be stumbling around constantly at a loss what to do. 
> 
> This was kind of a fic that stemmed from a bit of personal experience bc I have ADHD and have an awful habit of not taking care of myself unless I'm reminded. So my friends/bf have to remind me to do basic things like eat, sleep, shower, etc because otherwise I'll just straight up forget.
> 
> Anyway, if you like this, feel free to follow me on [tumblr](https://technoskittles.tumblr.com) and [twitter](https://twitter.com/TechnoSkittles)
> 
> Until next time~


End file.
